US photo was taken at Poway, a few miles NE of San Diego.

Stuart

Agave Kichiokan.JPG Once they reach their maximum diameter, they just seem to go upwards. This one is in Bob Kent's garden in the US. Agave Kichiokanb.JPG These are all Chinese plants at a wholesale nursery in the EU, they've been held in a dormant state while they were shipped in a sea container a...

I bought a bag of sulfur - stuff that used to be called 'Flowers of Sulphur' on ebay, it gets dusted quite liberally on any areas of possible rot or where I've cleared leaves with botrytis. It used to be available in chemists in the same way that you could buy Potassium Nitrate by the ounce and make...

Anyone who has got this far with this thread and isn't already a member should join the Haworthia Society, their annual seed list is the start to growing plants like those shown here. If you're already a member then make a note of the 3rd weekend in October next year for the Haworthia Convention in ...

I'd add Tylecodons to the list, they should be in leaf and growing now. Watering in the winter goes against everything we're normally told but Tylecodons only grow during the winter. I tend to water Pelargoniums during the summer as they're mixed in with my other succulents but I should separate the...

There's no 'cash spent on plant passports', there's never been a charge for putting the info on plants other than the initial registration cost. It's normally on a plastic label, printed on the pot or on a label stuck on each tray. There's no charge, it just looks like careless or ignorant labelling...

Whilst we're going back into history, I'm sure someone here knows what happened to Gordon Rowley's library. I seem to remember it was taken away to be catalogued but can't remember where it went or who would have access to it.

Stuart

I see the Faucaria is also labelled as Lithops. Assuming you didn't buy them, the chance on someone buying them and knowing what to do with them is remote. There's very little correct info on watering Lithops and small 5cm pots to pot them into aren't easy to find. On the other hand, if they're spli...

I remember visiting Sargants on the Isle of Wight, the nursery was by the side of a cliff and the greenhouses built on ridges that had to be reached by ladder. Plants had to be held in one hand whilst the other hand held on to the ladder.

Stuart

There's nothing wrong with beginners books, ironically, John's 'Happy Cactus' book was, he told me, his best selling book having been translated into various languages and it's the ideal 'entry' to our hobby. It's just that the Lamb's books had attractive dust-jackets but were a let down with poor c...